Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-05-27
VAN B. BAKER.
Hg TELLS AN INTERESTING STORY TO A
PITrSBURG MINISTER.
BE INFINITELY Details His Whereabouts on bt
Day Of the Double Audsr-ImpCrtant
Revelations.

Yesterdays Pittsburgh Commercial Ga
zette contained very interesting account
of a conversation had by Rev. E. r. DON
ehoo, of Pittsburgh, with Van Il. Baker,
now in the New Cumberland Jail on the
charge of numbering his wife and mother
in-law. The interview is here reproduced
in the main
81 will be acquitted Of the charge of this
murder" said Baker, "but shall leave
this Jail a ruined man. My home is
broken up my wife dead-my life wrecked.
There are those who will always have
their opinion OF this horrible mystery, and
no matter how emphatic an acquittal
secure, the stigma of having been impris-
oned here because was suspected of muir
dering my own wife and mother-in-law
will always stick to me. Oh, God"
In the interview are many new and i'm
portant statements, and the story outlines
the defense which will be made when the
case comes to trial. In narrating the oC-
currences of that fatal Monday, Baker
said
"On the Monday afternoon that my wife
and her mother, Mrs. McWha, were last
seen alive" said Prof. Baker to Mr.. Done
hoo, 81 had arranged TO 60 to my mothers
house, at Cross Creek. My wife and were
out in our orchard little while. / shall
produce witnesses to prove that they saw us
there One, Mr.. Ralston, will swear rs to
the time he saw us leave the orchard and
enter The house. From the time that l
entered the house until / had to go TO the
station to take the train for Cross Creek /
had just twenty minutes 10 pare. This
can be proven, because we were seen to 60
from the house TO the orchard, and then |
was seen at the train, while certainly those
at Cross Creek know ! was there over
night To prove this murder OH me it
would be necessary TO show that | killed
both woman, took off their clothes, hunted
up their night garments, and put them on
the cOrpSeS, ransacked the trunks, packed
my valise and made the train-all this III
twenty minutes!
when we went back TO the house from
the orchard" continued Mr.. Baker, "Mrs.
McWha, my wifes mother, seemed to be
greatly worried. She was IN eccentric
lady, as everybody in Holidays Cove
knew. She started to tell me that people
had been bOthering her all afternoon by
knocking at the front door Once or twice
she had responded and found nobody there.
Once afterwards three Italians had knock
ed at the door on some trivial excuse
There was gang of them working near
the house. She told me that finally she
got tired of answering the knocks, and ~
she did not want people to bother her she
had made up her mind she would not
respond to the door again. Then she
said that somebody came clear around
to the rear door and knocked,
and she deliberately slammed the
door shut, not seeing or caring who 1t was
This explains the story that has been cir
culated that ut half-past three o'clock that
afternoon Mrs. Swarengen and Mrs. Brown,
two friends, called ut the house. They
rang the dOOr-bell. 1t not being answered
Mrs. Swarengen handed her baby to Mrs.
Brown and went around to the back door.
She went to push it in and mad 1t partly
open when it was slammed i'll her face.
People say that maybe WAS in there muir
dering the women and slammed the door
shut. Ha! ha!
after my mOthcr-in-law got done tell
ing me Of these annOyanccs packed my
valise and Just had time to make the train.
Next morning when | returned to my
home from Cross CreeKI found the bodies
of my murdered family, and at once no.
titled the neighbOrs, who came over. The
afternoon left home there was $3.50 III my
trunk. The next day looked for it and
it was gone. That money has never been
found since, although the Government
bonds turned up all right. My theory al
ways has been since the murder that those
three Italians committed the deed for rob-
berry, and the disappearance OF the $3.50
only strengthens it. also remember that
Mrs McWha got a $50 bill changed that
afternoon | found none OF the change the
next day, and know she had no occasion
to spend it.
| "Thpy have thrown me in here and
won't make any attempt TO work out my
theory of the murder. In the meantime
the detectives are losing valuable time
with good clues to the robbery right at the
house"
Rev. Mr.. DonehOO says there is n de-
cided change in the public feeling among
residents of Hancock county, and many
believe that Baker cannot possibly be con-
victed; that there was no motive for the
murder by him, and that he will be able
to prove an alibi. Mr.. Donehoo added
that Baker is cool and courageous in his
imprisonment, but chatting under what he
declares is a hellish wrong, and indignant
at detectives for having taken possession
of his household effects since the tragedy.